Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Zheng Luoqi looked at Xiao Jie with a smile and said, "Since you've already delivered yourself to my doorstep, you should honestly confess. Perhaps I'll take pity on you and leave you a whole corpse?"

"Pah!" Xiao Jie spat forcefully and said, "Kill me or torture me, you corrupt official!"

"So tough, huh? I hope you can hold on for a bit." With that, Zheng Luoqi had someone go up and break Xiao Jie's fingers one by one. The sound of bones breaking, mixed with screams, echoed in the cell.

"Tell me, who are you working for? And what's the matter with Yuexin Pavilion?" Zheng Luoqi asked calmly.

Zheng Luoqi waited for a while but still didn't see him speak, so she continued to have the execution carried out.

Zheng Luoqi sipped her tea, listening to the screams coming from beside her, and said calmly, "Do you know how your good brother Xiao Jie died? He didn't even have a complete body after he died, how pitiful!"

"You corrupt official! You corrupt official! You'll die a horrible death! You corrupt official! Ah!" The curses and screams echoed in the cell.

Zheng Luoqi didn't want to deal with him any longer, so she prepared a complaint and instructed her subordinates that if he still didn't confess, they should just make him put his fingerprint on the complaint.

Zhi Jinwu

Ye Churan slept on the table of the Imperial Guard all night. When she woke up, she found that Zheng Luoqi had already left.

He quickly got up to find Zhang Zhiyuan, who handed him a copy of Hu Gongzi's corpse account. After seeing the corpse account, Ye Churan immediately began to carefully examine it.

After watching for a while, Ye Churan asked Zhang Zhiyuan, "Where did Lord Zheng go?"

“Oh, Lord Zheng went back to rest after leaving the corpse account last night. Seeing that you were too tired, Lord Zheng ordered his men not to disturb Lord Ye’s rest, so he didn’t wake you up,” Zhang Zhiyuan said with a smile.

Ye Churan nodded her thanks and left the Imperial Guard, heading towards the Prime Minister's residence.

Zheng Luoqi hadn't slept well the night before, and after only a few hours of sleep, news came back from the investigators.

"My lord, you guessed right. Young Master Hu used to have a maid named Xiao Cui by his side. She died not long ago because she was insulted by Young Master Hu and hanged herself. Master Hu and Madam Hu also suppressed the matter," the guard who delivered the message reported respectfully.

"The maid who discovered Young Master Hu's death was a close friend of Xiao Cui. She was also on good terms with a sweeping servant. The servant had recently bought a sleeping potion, and the maid had also secretly bought a theatrical costume from Renren. The poison on the vines of Young Master Hu's body was just a very ordinary poison, different from the poison recorded in the previous two crimes."

"The first two poisons were the Five Poisons Powder commonly used by people in the martial arts world, and the last one was very ordinary arsenic."

After listening to the servant's report, Zheng Luoqi carefully recalled the entire incident.

Therefore, it was the maid and servant who plotted to kill Young Master Hu in order to avenge their friend, using the "theatre of death" to their advantage.

In other words, the death of Young Master Hu had nothing to do with the "theatre-related death" incident. It was just that the maid and servant were imitating the "theatre-related death" incident. They first told Young Master Hu about the "theatre-related death" incident to arouse his curiosity and led him to the theater to listen to the music.

Finally, when Young Master Hu returned after listening to the music, they used a sleeping potion to knock him unconscious, then strangled him to death. Afterwards, they changed into theatrical costumes, put on makeup, and pretended that Fifth Sister had come to claim their lives.

Once it's man-made, twice it's a coincidence, but three times people will start to believe it's a 'ghost'.

In other words, of the three cases of "theatre killings," the first two were committed by Xiao Jie, while the last one was an imitation by a maid and a servant.

Who is behind Xiao Jie? Fan Huai'an? Prince Gong? Chen Tongyu? The Emperor? Grand Commandant Wen? Lin Changsheng? Perhaps all of them.

Just then, a servant came to report that a new opera house called 'Yueyinge' had opened opposite Yuexin Pavilion.

Zheng Luoqi laughed in anger when she heard the name; it seemed she didn't even want to think of a name.

"Young Master, should we order the arrest of Young Master Hu's maid and servant?" The servant asked, seeing that Zheng Luoqi remained silent.

"Just take them to Yuexin Pavilion, secretly, without letting anyone find out. You can even bring them here by kidnapping," Zheng Luoqi said calmly, taking a sip of tea.

"Yes." The servant obeyed and withdrew.

Zheng Luoqi also took Boyu to Yuexin Pavilion. As soon as they arrived at the entrance of Yuexin Pavilion, they saw a newly opened opera house next to it. The opera house was still under renovation, and it looked like it would open in a few days. It must be 'Yueyin Pavilion'.

Zheng Luoqi stopped looking and turned to head towards Yuexin Pavilion. As soon as San Niang saw Zheng Luoqi arrive, she immediately greeted him with a beaming smile and welcomed him into the private room.

Not long after, two guards carried in two large sacks. Inside were the maidservant Xiaohua, whom they had met before—the first person to witness Young Master Hu's death. There was also a servant boy they had never seen before, presumably Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu was Xiao Hua's accomplice, the other person who killed Young Master Hu.

Xiao Hua felt utterly devastated when she saw herself and Xiao Liu brought here, bound hand and foot. Having already met Zheng Luoqi and knowing he was the official in charge of the case, she now knew perfectly well that her actions had been discovered.

Zheng Luoqi noticed that Xiaohua kept her head down and didn't say a word, so he took the initiative to ask, "You two, guess why I've summoned you here today?"

Xiao Hua could no longer remain silent. She forcefully shielded Xiao Liu behind her and said in a trembling but firm voice, "My lord, this whole thing was planned by me and has nothing to do with Xiao Liu. Please, my lord, arrest only me and spare Xiao Liu!" After saying that, she kowtowed heavily to the floor, making a crisp sound.

Zheng Luoqi watched all of this quietly without interfering.

Zheng Luoqi gestured for the guards around her to leave. At this point, only Zheng Luoqi, Boyu, Xiaohua, and Xiaoliu remained in the room.

"Alright, stop kowtowing. No matter how much you kowtow, it won't help. No one will be kind for no reason unless you can offer something of equal value to exchange for something that can save your and Xiao Liu's lives," Zheng Luoqi said coldly to Xiao Hua and Xiao Liu.

Upon hearing Zheng Luoqi's words, Xiaohua immediately understood what she meant. She quickly stopped kowtowing and said resolutely, "As long as you spare Xiaoliu, I am willing to go through fire and water for you!"

Xiao Liu, who was standing to the side, didn't say a word. He just kept shaking his head, tears streaming down his face, his eyes staring straight at Xiao Hua.

Zheng Luoqi noticed Xiao Liu's unusual behavior and couldn't help but feel a little strange, so she asked Xiao Hua, "Is he unable to speak?"

Upon hearing Zheng Luoqi's question, Xiaohua quickly nodded and replied, "Young master, Xiaoliu has no tongue, so he cannot speak."

After hearing Xiao Hua's words, Zheng Luoqi immediately understood what was going on, but he did not press the matter further.